www.familiesbirmingham.co.uk
rd to September application is Wednesday, July 11. If you register late for the test, your child will not be offered a place but will be put on a waiting list. The Warwickshire 11 plus test date is also scheduled for Saturday, September 8, but children unable to attend on that date because they are sitting the Birmingham exam, will be offered an alternative test date on September 15 or 18. Last year 1,198 pupils sat the 11 plus to gain a space at one of the three South Warwickshire schools. The third Midlands consortium of grammar schools is Wolverhampton which includes the Queen Mary’s Grammar schools in Walsall and Wolverhampton Girls High School. They will hold their 11 plus exams on Wednesday, September 12. The September timetable is good news in allowing parents to make an informed choice about their child’s chances of gaining a grammar place before filling in their secondary preference forms. But coming so soon after the long summer break means children will not have much time to get back into the school zone before sitting the exam. The three consortia are using different tests but all provided by Durham University Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM). No practice papers are available as the tests are designed to test natural ability. Children registered to take the 11 plus are sent some sample questions to give them an idea of the style of the exam but the sample questions are unlikely to be as complex as those they encounter on the day. Grammar schools provide a wonderful education, but they might not be the best environment for a child who struggles academically. That’s why parents need to be realistic about their child’s ability and why grammar schools do not encourage intensive coaching. Nevertheless, if your child is sitting the exam they will be up against many children who are tutored and even the brightest children are likely to have had practice at 11 plus-style papers. While the style of exam questions can change every year, the concepts children will need to apply, and the strategies they will need to use to cope with the papers will be broadly similar. So practice is a good idea to get them familiar with the style of the exams.
Support The Princess Trust-backed Academic Excellence group offers 11 plus tuition in class groups at several venues across Birmingham and Solihull and they will continue through the summer holidays. Call 0121 454 2858 or e-mail info@academicexcellence. org.uk. Kings Heath-based Explore Learning also offer 11 plus preparation. 0121 6617 409 www.explorelearning.org.uk KSOL are offering tailored 11 plus summer classes and 1-to-1 support. 0121 733 6558 or www.ksol.co.uk
Important Dates: Registration forms: Available from May 1 in Birmingham; week of May 28 in Warwickshire; register now for Queen Mary’s, Walsall, and forms will be sent out towards end June.
Closing date for disabled children, or those needing special arrangements to sit the test: June 20 (Birmingham). Closing date for 11 plus registration: July 11, Warwickshire; 4pm on July 13 for Birmingham and Wolverhampton consortia.
Education
KSOL 11+ Preparation 11+ Mock Exams
Online Courses 1-2-1 Tutoring Summer Courses
Tutoring Centres: Shirley-Handsworth-Sutton-Warwick
Try our free 11+ Challenge visit www.ksol.co.uk/wf Call 0121 733 6558
Test dates: Birmingham and Warwickshire, September 8; Wolverhampton Consortium, September 12. Alternative test date in Warwickshire is Sept 15 or 18 for children unable to attend on Sept 8. Test results: (note – this is not an offer of a place) Early to Mid October. Birmingham will send out results in the week of October 15. Local authority school preference forms: closing date: October 31.
Issue 9
11